Ikan has become one of the premiere brands for video production equipment and our production support equipment is utilized on shoots all over the world. With the addition of new and redesigned products, we can offer even more comprehensive total solutions to the video professional. Items such as the Elements™ Stereoscope series, the VX LCD Monitor series and our LED lighting all give you every piece of the sometimes confusing ‘production puzzle.’

To celebrate ikan’s brand name that is synonymous with total solutions, this year’s theme is “Where is the Missing Piece?”

Create a short film that abides by the Judging Criteria stated below and you could win a prize package of more than $10,000, in addition to having your work viewed by some of the industry’s hottest rising stars!

All You Have To Do To Enter Is:
- Create your entry of no more than 3 ½ minutes, making sure to abide by the official rules and judging criteria
- Upload your video to www.vimeo.com/ikanseeit
- Send us your completed entry form by the stated deadline (you can send it in regardless of whether or not you have finished the actual film… so get it sent off to us early!)
- Kick back until the winners are announced

Judging Criteria:

Adherence to the Theme: The more creative you can be in utilizing the theme as a plot point or linchpin of the piece, the better.

Technical Proficiency: A good story is only as good as the shots chosen, the audio recorded, the camera movement utilized and the editing employed for that final cut.

Creativity & Originality of the Story and the Method of Storytelling: We’ve seen some pretty creative stories over the past two years… and we can’t wait to see what else you might come up with! Whether you decide to go documentary-style or complete POV, make your entry stand out.

Positive Product and/or Brand Promotion: This is a ton of gear up for grabs… all from ikan. So, show our brand some love! Use our products, our name, our logo or all three. The more, the better.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure to keep it clean. Nudity, foul language and obscene or profane behavior are not recommended! Fight scenes, explosions, gunfire and light saber fights are perfectly fine.

Good luck to all our contestants… for inspiration and some good, solid entertainment, check out our 2010 Top 10 Finalists.

Jared Abrams is a cinematographer based in Hollywood, California. He writes a daily news column for the popular DSLR website Cinema5D. After many years as a professional camera assistant he switched over to still photography. About two years ago a new Canon camera changed the way the world sees both motion and still photography. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

After a career at a Wall Street brokerage house, David moved into feature film production, with projects such as ’18 Shades of Dust,’ ‘Love and Action in Chicago,’ ‘Wish You Were Dead’ and ‘Perfect Romance,’ which aired on June 9th, 2004, on Lifetime Television. After this, David’s Clarity Pictures landed a domestic distribution deal through Maverick Entertainment for “The Clique.” Renamed “Death Clique”, the film hit the streets on July 11, 2006. “The Clique” was David’s directorial debut. The film is in Blockbuster Video stores nationwide.

Dave has worked for Adobe Systems, Inc, for nearly 14 years and has specialized in Digital Video and Digital Imaging products for over 20 years. He was involved in the early stages of Adobe's entry into the DVD and Blu-ray authoring scene. Currently, David manages a team of video specialists for North America, as well as business development with various Adobe partners. He occasionally travels abroad giving lectures and participating in Panel Discussions.

Sebastian grew up near Nuremberg, Germany, where he's still living, but is now involved in many international projects.

After his first corporate film about a wallpaper factory he garnered a lot of attention, and he is now considered one of the most prominent Video DSLR experts in Germany. Frank Suffert, a Los Angeles based film producer, caught attention of Sebastian Wiegärtner and booked him for a shoot as a Director of Photography at Paris Fashion Week for a well known designer.

Koo co-wrote, directed, shot, and edited the “urban western” web series The West Side, which won the Webby Award for Best Drama Series. Filmmaker Magazine heralded the series as “ingenious low-budget independent filmmaking that just happens to be viewable only on the Web,” and named him one of their 25 New Faces of Film. Koo has shot for Focus Features, The Workbook Project, and Ralph Lauren; he has written for Filmmaker Magazine and Weblogs, Inc.; and he has served as Senior Designer for Rhapsody and MTV.

Mitch "planetMitch" Aunger runs planet5D.com. A lover of photography since his early days, he sold stock photos to make a little bit of spare cash and to buy new photography equipment. When Canon announced the EOS 5D Mark II, the HDSLR revolution began and so planetMitch launched planet5D. It is now one of the most popular HDSLR communities on the planet, and it enables planetMitch to make a full-time living from blogging. He couldn’t be happier!

Mel's debut movie Fade To Black premiered at the Bare Bones Film Festival in 2001, where it won the Grand Jury Award. Since then, Mel has D.P.’ed Electric Purgatory, and directed Closet Space, which has gone on to rave reviews and distribution in countries all around the world. Walking Distance, Mel’s next feature, was picked up for distribution in 2011 by Lionsgate (under new title, Psychic Experiment). Mel also co-wrote and produced Imago, a psychological horror feature to be released in 2011. Mel produces his projects through his film company Upstart Filmworks and resides in Houston with his wife Melanie.

Steve Roche is the General Manager for Retail & Services at Digital Juice and is responsible for third-party product and channel sales, media buying and placement and directing DJTV’s online video training program. With regards to the training program, Steve is responsible for identifying and building relationships with a variety of talented video, motion graphics and print artists and then helping them produce training that is both inspiring and educational for viewers. When it comes to film projects, Steve believes they are more entertaining when producers and directors are willing to infuse more of their own personalities into their creations.

Tony started off as a graphic designer who soon fell in love with film. He has worked as the director of multiple television series seen around the world as well as owner of a national commercial production company. However, his first love in video has always been the use of lighting and camera movement to evoke emotion. He created the popular website NextWaveDV which provides news and training for video and filmmakers.